This invention relates to high frequency cable connectors to be installed on interior wall surface of buildings.
The connector of this kind can be effectively utilized in relay-connecting between at least a pair of coaxial cables one of which is connected to a television antenna or the like installed on a roof of the building and the other of which is connected to a relay-antenna terminal plate installed onto outer a television receiver or the like.
For known high-frequency cable connectors of the kind referred to, an example has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,809 to Cheng-Shi Wang, in which there are provided a terminal for connection thereto of a coaxial cable connected to a TV receiver or the like and another terminal for connection thereto of another coaxial cable connected to a TV antenna or the like. The cables are respectively guided onto front and rear faces of a base body of the connector for connection with a relay-connecting means in the base body. The cables are fastened by means of a cover or protective plate.
This connector of Wang is advantageous in that the cables and connector terminals can be connected with each other without the use of any fixing screw, but there are involved certain problems In particular, the arrangement in which the TV receiver cable is inserted between the base body and the cover renders this connector improper for allowing the relay-connection to be completed in a single motion of inserting a plug-like terminal member provided to an end of the coaxial cable. Further, as the TV antenna cable must be guided so as to extend from one side edge to an inside point of the base body within a plane including the base body, it becomes necessary to install this connector onto an interior wall surface while disposing the entire base body on the wall surface, so as to render the asthetic appearance unsatisfactory. It has been also defective in that it is difficult to construct the connector to in a modular dimension substantially of the same dimensions as other modular-dimensioned wiring devices so as to be exchangeably installed with such device or devices. Further, as the relay-connection means must be provided to each of the front and rear surfaces of the base body, the constituent parts are required to be assembled from both sides of the base body so that the manufacturing has been practically complicated.
A primary object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a high-frequency cable connector which allows a plug-shaped terminal member provided to an end of the coaxial cable to be connected in a single inserting motion, the installation of the connector to the wall surface to be made without disposing base body part as exposed on the wall surface, a concurrent installation with any wiring device of different or the same type to be performed, and all constituent parts to be installed sequentially from one side of the base body during the manufacture.
According to the present invention, the above object can be attained by providing a high-frequency cable connector for relay-connection between coaxial cables led from two different sides, which comprises a case body having in a front surface a receptacle for receiving a plug provided to an end of one of the cables and an outer contactor disposed in the receptacle for connection with an outer conductor of the cable, the case body being opened on bottom side, an inner contactor holder disposed within the case body and having a compartment for accommodating therein first one of first and second different shaped contacting parts of an inner contactor, the contacting parts being respectively contactable with each of inner and outer conductors of the cable from one of the two different sides, a conducting shield plate provided to the open bottom of the case body to shield the same while exposing the accommodating compartment of the contactor holder to the exterior but closing the rest of the open bottom, the shield plate being coupled to an extended leg portion of the outer contactor, and a cap member pivoted at an end to the shield plate at a position close to the exposed compartment of the contactor holder to be rotatable at the other end where the cap member is fixed through a screw to the shield plate for holding the other side cable between the shield plate and the cap member while contacting the outer conductor of the other side cable with the shield plate.
With the above high-frequency cable connector according to the present invention in which the receptacle for one of the cables as well as the rotatable cap member for holding the other cable are concurrently provided, the two coaxial cables can be connected to each other through a simpler motion required, while the receptacle disposed to be accessible from the front side allows the connector to be installed so as to have the front surface of the connector disposed substantially flush with the interior wall surface, to keep the appearance excellent. Since the connector can be subjected to a modular dimension in association with the same or different type of the wiring device, the connector can be arranged to be exchangeably or concurrently mounted with such other wiring devices As the assembling work of the connector can be completed only from a single direction with respect thereto, the connector can be made high in the mass productivity.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be made clear in the following description of the invention detailed with reference to embodiments of the invention shown in accompanying drawings.